Back in August, Sony Santa Monica designer Mark Simon revelaed that the Kratos comong to God of War: Ascension was going to be a little different than we've seen in past games. Simon told Polygon that, while he'd still be a world weary cynic with a pure hatred for the Gods, he wouldn't full of quite as much hatred. Dare I say, he's more...human.
This had me worried. Call me vicious, but over the last few games, I'd come to like Kratos and his pure malevolence for virtually everyone but him. What good is a God of War gone soft?
Not very, would be the popular answer. With this the case, what kind of case would developer Sony Santa Monica be delivering?
I was more than thankful when I read an interview from PSU, who spoke with Ascension's Lead Combat Designer, Jason McDonald, who promised that in spite of this new Kratos, Ascension will more than satisfy players' virtual bloodlust.
"We always try to push the envelope as far as we can. Sometimes we get pushed back and we have to censor our stuff a little bit," said McDonald. "We're always trying to find new ways that we can rip guys open and just do things that we want." In fact, the game's new feature may be the best venue for players to find the kind of over the top violence that's become a hallmark of the series, namely, multiplayer.
Said McDonald, "Multiplayer gives us a little venue where we can do that as well, where now we're killing other people...That kind of allowed us to go there with kills that we haven't even shown yet."
McDonald also explained the decision to make Kratos a bit more human. "We knew that as Kratos went on from God of War 1, 2, and 3, he also became a little less likable, because he started becoming more of a bastard," McDonald explained. "He's still a warrior, still powerful, still a Spartan guy, but he's not as just blatantly angry."
We'll see if fans respond to the new Kratos when God of War: Ascension is out for PlayStation 3, Mar. 12.
